职称英语考试语法:定语及例题解析
也就是做名词的修饰语。只要牢记本讲“非谓语动词的时态和语态意义”一节中的内容,就不难理解非谓语动词做定语的问题。非谓语动词做定语,本质上是“定语从句”,例如:
Where is the house built last year?
= Where is the house that(或which)was built last year (去年建造的那栋房子哪儿去了?)
Do you see the house being built there
= Do you see the house that (或which) is being built there?(看见那边那栋正在建造的房子了吗?)
The house to be built next month will be our dorm.
= The house that (或which) will be built (或that is to be built) next month will be our dorm.(下月要建造的那栋房子将是我们的宿舍。)
也就是说,只要把握好“时间状语”和“语态(先行词与动词的关系)”,非谓语动词做定语的考试选项比较容易,出题几率也比较低。
有人可能会问:
I have a letter to write 和I have a letter to be written两个句子中的黑体部分都是做“letter”的定语,为什么一个用主动,另一个用被动语态。一般来说,当动词(write)的行为者就是句子的主语(I)时,用主动语态。因此,这两个句子的内涵是有些区别的。但由于考试形式的局限性,一般不会考这种区别的。
4.状语
非谓语动词做状语是这一讲的重点,也是考试的重点。大家还记得“句子的连接”一讲中说过的“逗号不能连接两个句子”这句话和所举的例子吗?
错:He is ill, he cannot come to the party this evening.(逗号不能连接两个句子)
对:Because he is ill, he cannot come to the party this evening.(使用连接词)
对:Being ill, he cannot come to the party this evening.(使用非谓语动词形式)
如果:His child is ill, he cannot come to the party this evening. 该怎么改呢?
道理是一样的:
His child being ill, he cannot come to the party this evening.
也就是说,非谓语动词也要有“行为的主体”,称为“主格”;如果“非谓语动词的行为的主体”与句子的主语不一致,要保留其行为主体(如上句中的“his child”),这种结构称为“(分词)独立主格构”。